Spy pigeon from Pakistan intercepted in Punjab village

The extraordinary "spy" was caught carrying messages inscribed on its body written in Urdu.

A pigeon mock-up is seen with a small camera at the 'Top Secret' Spy Museum in Oberhausen, Germany. (Representation Pic)Reuters File

With Indo-Pak tensions at an all-time high after the Uri attack, public hysteria is evident with conversations about the prospect of nuclear war being regularly featured night after night on prime time TV.

Amidst nuclear apocalypse scenarios and calls for war, a significant story was almost lost in the pandemonium. A couple of days ago, Indian authorities apprehended a "spy" from Pakistan.

The extraordinary "spy" was caught carrying messages inscribed on its body written in Urdu at Motla village in Punjab late Thursday.

What makes the story more interesting is the fact that this spy was in fact a pigeon.

A concerned citizen – Naresh Kumar, thankfully informed the police that the sickly pigeon had landed on his house. The police were quick to apprehend the bird and kick-start the investigation.

After summoning a translator who could read Urdu, the bird was sent through an X-Ray to see if something was hidden inside it.

Mukerian Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bhupinder Singh said that only names of the days were stamped on it. "We sent the bird for an X-ray to verify if something was hidden inside but nothing suspicious was found. As a precaution, we are keeping the avian in our custody for the time being," Singh was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

This, however, is not the first time that India has apprehended a Pakistani "spy" pigeon.

A "spy" pigeon was similarly intercepted in March 2015. The pigeon was believed to have crossed over from Pakistan and was discovered by 14-year-old boy in Punjab's Pathankot district who rushed his findings to the police.

Police were suspicious after seeing a message in Urdu and numbers that they believed were part of a landline telephone number in Pakistan's Narowal district. But after it was x-rayed, nothing more was found.

Twitter, however, had a field day after learning that Pakistan's choice of spy mode is a pigeon.